Integrated chassis assembly

ABSTRACT

A chassis assembly for containing a plurality of electronic units includes a cabinet including top, bottom, and opposite side walls, the front and rear of the cabinet being open. A pair of opposing vertical columns of spaced-apart stops projects from the interior surfaces of the side walls adjacent to the rear edges thereof, the corresponding stops in the pairs of columns being located opposite one another at the same elevation in said cabinet. The assembly also includes pairs of similar brackets each bracket pair adapted for securement to the opposite sides of an electronic unit to be contained in the chassis assembly. The brackets of each pair have rear ends shaped to interfit with corresponding stops in the columns of stops to set the elevation in the cabinet of the unit to which they are secured. The front ends of the brackets are releasably secured to the adjacent cabinet side walls so that said brackets are parallel to said top and bottom walls. A perforated closure member is releasably secured to the front of the cabinet to finish same and to provide a mounting surface for a logo.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/607,687, filed Sep. 7, 2004. This invention relates to telephone and data communication apparatus. It relates more particularly to an integrated chassis assembly to house such apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telecommunications switch/server apparatus is used to route message traffic over a network. Conventionally, such apparatus comprises a chassis or housing containing various electrical components and subassemblies that enable the switch to perform its functions, e.g. processors, memories, line-interface units and other network gear. Electrical connections to and from the switch are made by way of a multiplicity of data and telephony ports at the rear of the chassis. Cables plugged into those ports connect the switch to outside lines and to other units comprising the overall telecommunications system.

The prior switches of this type are disadvantaged in that all of the major subassemblies within the switch such as processors, power supplies, line-interface units, etc. are supported and interconnected by a single motherboard or backplane within the chassis. This, of course, prevents customers from being able to select for incorporation into a given switch, processors and other subassemblies from specifics sources or vendors. In other words, a customer may want its switch to include a line-interface unit from one vendor and a host computer from another vendor. Conventional chassis designs do not allow for this flexibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a chassis for telecommunications equipment which allows for the integration of host computers, line-interface units, etc. from various different suppliers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chassis such as this which can be mounted in a cabinet or rack or sit alone or be stacked on a desk or shelf.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a chassis which integrates switch subassemblies or units from different suppliers so that the totality has the look of equipment from a single provider.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chassis which may provide AC or DC power distribution for the units within the chassis.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a chassis which addresses the power, cabling and integration requirements that developers face when bringing their software solutions to market.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chassis which provides proper ventilation for all of the units to be contained within the chassis.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chassis which allows for easy insertion and removal of the units within the chassis.

Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the following detailed description and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

Briefly, our chassis assembly comprises a generally rectangular cabinet or housing having a top wall, a bottom wall, and opposite side walls, the front and rear of the cabinet or housing being open to allow for circulation of air through the cabinet. Vertical arrays of horizontal vent openings or slots are provided in the cabinet side walls to provide for lateral circulation of air within the cabinet.

Preferably also, flanges are formed at the front edges of the cabinet side walls, and these flanges are provided with openings for fasteners when the chassis assembly is mounted in a rack.

In accordance with the invention, vertical columns of interior tabs are struck from the side walls of the cabinet adjacent to the rear edges thereof. The columns of tabs in the two walls are spaced directly opposite one another with the tabs in each column being spaced apart vertically to define a series of mounting positions or levels within the cabinet. Also formed in the cabinet side walls adjacent to the front edges thereof are vertical columns of fastener holes. The number of holes in each hole column correspond to the number of tabs in each tab column and the holes are located at more or less the same levels on the side walls as the tabs.

The cabinet is dimensioned to support a stack of self-contained data or telecommunications equipment units or subassemblies such as power supply units, host computer units, etc., the number of such units corresponding to the number of tabs in each column of tabs and the number of holes in each column of holes in the side walls of the cabinet.

As we shall see, the chassis assembly also includes special brackets for mounting to the opposite sides of the various equipment units that are to be contained within the chassis assembly. These brackets cooperate with the columns of stops or tabs in the side walls of the cabinet to locate those units vertically within the cabinet. As will be described in detail later, those units are releasably secured within the cabinet by fasteners inserted through the columns of fastener holes in the side walls of the cabinet and into the front end portions of the brackets.

Once the units are installed within the cabinet, the front opening into the cabinet may be mostly closed by a removable generally rectangular grille which does not materially interfere with the circulation of air within the cabinet but which gives the chassis assembly and its contents the appearance of a piece of equipment originating from a single provider and which provides a convenient mounting surface for that provider's trade name or logo.

It will be appreciated that our chassis assembly is designed particularly to integrate third-party host computers with network gear to provide a marketable, privately labeled solution to various customers' data communications and telephony requirements. The chassis assembly can be mounted with any EAI 569 compliant cabinet or rack or sit or be stacked on a table or shelf. The chassis assembly may accommodate a power distribution unit for delivering either AC or DC power and the open back of the chassis assembly facilitates the necessary wiring and cabling to interconnect the various units within the chassis and to connect those units to a power source and to other similar equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a right front perspective view of a chassis assembly incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a left front perspective view, partially exploded, of the FIG. 1 assembly showing the chassis assembly contents;

FIG. 3 is a right rear perspective view of the chassis assembly and its contents;

FIG. 4 is a right front perspective view, partially exploded, of the chassis assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view with parts removed showing the interior components of the assembly in greater detail;

FIG. 6A is a rear elevational view showing the wiring details of the various units including an AC power supply unit contained within the chassis assembly, and

FIG. 6B is a similar view of the chassis assembly containing a DC power supply unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, our chassis assembly comprises a cabinet shown generally at 10 which includes a top wall 110 a, a bottom wall 10 b and a pair of opposite mirror-image side walls 10 c, 10 c. Bottom wall 10 b and side walls 10 c, 10 c are formed of a single piece of sheet metal with the side walls bent up at right angles to the bottom wall to form a generally U-shaped channel. Top wall 10 a is a flat metal plate having depending side flanges (not shown) extending down just inside the upper edge margins of side walls 10 c, 10 c. That top wall is secured to the side walls by fasteners 12 extending through the side walls and threaded into the depending flanges of top wall 10 a.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front and rear of cabinet 10 are open so that air can circulate through the cabinet. Also, the cabinet side walls 10 c, 10 c are provided with vertical arrays 14 of horizontal vent openings or slots to allow crosswise circulation of air through the chassis assembly.

To facilitate mounting chassis assembly in a rack or cabinet (not shown), out-turned flanges 16, 16 are provided at the front edges of side walls 10 c, 10 c. Openings 18 in those flanges accommodate threaded fasteners or other securements to secure the flanges to the rack. Of course, instead of being mounted in a rack, chassis 10 may sit alone on a desk or table.

Cabinet 10 is dimensioned to contain a stack of self-contained units or subassemblies capable of forming a telecommunications switch, server or other such apparatus used in data communications, telephony or the like. Thus, a particular cabinet may contain a power supply unit P, typically located at the bottom of the cabinet, and various other units such as host computers, line-interface units, etc. These units are labeled U₁, U₂, . . . U_(x). The power supply unit P may be segregated from the other units by means of a horizontal partition 22 secured between the cabinet side walls 10 c, 10 c near the bottom of the cabinet as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Preferably, after the units P and U₁ . . . U_(x) are installed in the chassis assembly as will be described, the front of the cabinet 10 is closed by means of a generally rectangular perforated front cover or grille 24 which does not impede air flow through the cabinet. The grille has an all-around skirt or flange 24 a and may be releasably secured to the front of the cabinet by means of a pair of tabs 26, 26 which extend up at the front edge of cabinet bottom wall 10 b adjacent to side walls 10 c, 10 c and second pair of tabs 28, 28 which extend down from the front edge of the cabinet top wall 10 a adjacent those side walls. To secure the grille, the bottom segment of the grille skirt is slotted to receive tabs 26 and the grille swung toward the cabinet until its upper edge engages tabs 28. Fasteners 32 may be inserted through the upper corners of the grille and through aligned openings in tabs 28 to releasably secure the grille to the chassis. As best seen in FIG. 1, grille 24 finishes off the front of the chassis assembly so that the assembly and its contents appear to originate from a single provider or private label supplier even though the various units P, U₁ . . . U_(x) may originate from different suppliers. The grille 24 also provides a convenient mounting surface for a logo or trade name as shown at 36 to advertise the private labeling of the product.

It is important to emphasis that the illustrated chassis assembly is dimensioned for accommodating a power supply unit P and seven units U₁ . . . U₇. In other words, cabinet 10 has eight vertical positions or levels for holding up to eight self-contained units of data communications or telephony equipment. However, the cabinet could just as well be dimensioned to accommodate a stack of fewer or more such units.

In any event, all of the various units U₁ . . . U_(x) are mounted to the cabinet 10 in the same way. More particularly and as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, stops or tabs 42 are struck from the cabinet side walls 10 c, 10 c near the rear edges thereof. These stops or tabs are spaced apart in a vertical column and define vertical mounting positions for the various units U₁ . . . U_(x) in cabinet 10. The illustrated chassis assembly has a vertical column of six such stops or tabs 42 whose forward edges are spaced from the cabinet side walls 10 c, 10 c and face the front of the cabinet. Corresponding vertical columns of holes 44 are provided adjacent to the front edges of the cabinet side walls 10 c, 10 c.

The stops or tabs 42 and holes 44 in each cabinet side wall 10 c, 10 c are designed to mate with a vertical column of brackets 46 forming part of the chassis assembly. Brackets 46 are basically elongated, generally rectangular metal straps which are adapted to be secured to the opposite sides of the units U₁ . . . U_(x) to be installed in the chassis assembly. In other words, the brackets 46 adapt those units, which may originate from different suppliers, so that those units can be installed and integrated in the assembly. For this, the brackets 46 have holes 47 for receiving threaded fasteners or other suitable means to secure the brackets to the opposite sides of those units.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the rear end of each bracket 46 is formed with a rearwardly facing notch 48 which can interfit with a stop or tab 42 in a cabinet side wall 10 c, 10 c. When a pair of brackets 46 is secured to the opposite sides of a given unit U₁ . . . U_(x), that unit may be slid into a given vertical position in cabinet 10 such that notches 48 at the rear ends of those brackets 46 engage corresponding stops or tabs 42 on the cabinet side walls 10 c, 10 c to set the vertical position of that unit within the cabinet. The forward end of each bracket 46 may be releasably secured to the corresponding cabinet side wall by a suitable fastener 52 inserted through the appropriate hole 44 in the adjacent side wall 10 c, 10 c and threaded into a registering hole 47 in that bracket 46.

The front ends of the brackets 46 illustrated in FIG. 5 are shown as being vertically notched from below. These notches are to provide clearance for various obstructions that may be present on the units U₁ . . . U_(x) to which the brackets may be attached. However, those brackets could just as well have squared off front ends.

In any event, as shown in FIG. 5, when the brackets 46 are attached to the opposite sides of the units U₁ . . . U_(x), they permit those units to be inserted and secured at spaced apart positions or levels within the cabinet 10 without appreciably obstructing the vertical arrays 14 of vent openings in the side walls of the cabinet.

When one of the units P, U₁ . . . U_(x) malfunctions, it may be replaced easily by removing grill 24 and sliding the defective unit out of the chassis and replacing it with one that is operative.

As best seen in FIGS. 3, 6 a and 6 b, the connections to all of the units P and U₁ . . . U_(x) are made at the rears of those units by appropriate cables C. Since the rear end of cabinet 10 is completely open, cables C may be coupled to or plugged into (and uncoupled from) the various units quite easily in a minimum amount of time. For the same reason, connections may be made easily to an external power source and to other data communications equipment.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above among those made apparent from the preceding description are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein. 

1. A chassis assembly for containing a plurality of generally rectangular electronic units, said assembly comprising a cabinet including a top wall, a bottom wall, and a pair of opposite side walls, said top and bottom walls, on the one hand, and said side walls, on the other, having front and rear edges and interior surfaces facing each other, the front and rear of the cabinet being open; a pair of opposing similar vertical columns of spaced-apart stops projecting from the interior surfaces of said side walls adjacent to the rear edges thereof, the corresponding stops in said pair of columns being located opposite one another at the same elevation in said cabinet; pairs of similar brackets each bracket pair adapted for securement to the opposite sides of an electronic unit to be contained in the chassis assembly, the brackets of each pair of brackets having rear ends shaped to interfit with corresponding stops in said columns of stops to set the elevation in the cabinet of the unit to which they are secured and front ends; securements for releasably securing the front ends of each pair of brackets to the adjacent cabinet side walls so that each pair of brackets are parallel to said top and bottom walls; a perforated closure member having more or less the same shape and dimensions as the front opening into the cabinet, and intermitting surfaces on said closure member and on at least two of said cabinet walls for seating said closure member against the cabinet walls so that the closure member closes the front opening into the cabinet.
 2. The chassis assembly defined in claim 1 and further including vent openings in the side walls of said cabinet placed to provide lateral circulation of air through the cabinet.
 3. The chassis assembly defined in claim 1 where each of said brackets is a flat metal strap whose rear end is notched.
 4. The chassis assembly defined in claim 3 wherein said securements comprise fasteners extending through the side walls of the cabinet and said straps.
 5. The chassis assembly defined in claim 3 wherein each of said stops comprises a tab struck from the adjacent side wall of the cabinet and having a forward edge spaced inwardly from said adjacent side wall.
 6. The chassis assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said closure member comprises a generally rectangular grille.
 7. The chassis assembly defined in claim 6 wherein the interfitting surfaces on said at least two of said cabinet walls comprise on the one hand, a pair of upstanding tabs at the front edge of the cabinet bottom wall and on the other hand, a pair of depending tabs at the front edge of the cabinet top wall said pairs of tabs being located adjacent to the cabinet side walls.
 8. The chassis assembly defined in claim 6 wherein the interfitting surfaces on the closure member are located adjacent to the corners thereof. 